15 July 2016

Rising house prices shut more first-home buyers out

First-home buyers in Auckland are earning only about half as much as the daily increase in house prices, and are being increasingly shut out of the market, the Green Party said today.

REINZ house price data released today showed the median Auckland house price rose $500 every day in June, to a new high of $821,000.

“First-home buyers who had scraped together a deposit a month or two ago now won’t have enough and will have to keep saving,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said.

“A family on the median Auckland household income earns about $240 a day, but the median Auckland house price is rising $500 a day.

“This is a grossly unfair, unsustainable, and unacceptable situation.

“National’s council infrastructure loans aren’t going to do anything today to help those young families watching as the median price keeps rising while their savings are worth less and less in comparison.

“We need stronger action to tackle property speculation so that first-home buyers get a fair go.

“When people like investment banker Stephen Jennings are speaking out to say our ‘unfair’ tax system is part of the problem, surely it’s time for a proper capital gains tax (excluding the family home).

“The Government also has a responsibility to step into this broken housing market and build thousands of affordable homes,” said Mr Shaw.

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